The Rise of AI Search Engines: Can They Replace Google?

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AI Search Engines 2025 Can They Replace Google

Introduction

Search engines have been the backbone of how we access information online for decades. Google, since its inception, has dominated this space with its powerful algorithms, vast indexing infrastructure, fast results, and continual improvements. But in 2025 a new wave is challenging that dominance — AI-powered search experiences. AI search engines, or AI-enhanced modes within search platforms, are redefining what “search” means: not just retrieving links, but summarizing, reasoning, interacting, and even acting like agents.

In this blog, we’ll examine the rise of these AI search engines, especially Perplexity AI and ChatGPT’s Search mode, explore Google’s counter strategy via its AI Mode, look at strengths, weaknesses, and whether they are poised to replace Google’s traditional search.

What are AI Search Engines in 2025?

AI search engines refer to systems that combine large language models (LLMs), real-time or near real-time data retrieval, summarization, follow-up questioning, multimodal inputs (text, voice, image), and sometimes agentic abilities (booking, shopping, task automation). They are more conversational and often provide enriched summaries rather than just a list of blue links.

Key features defining them in 2025:

Summarization & Reasoning: Answering complex, long questions, reasoning across subtopics rather than just matching keywords.
Multimodal Inputs: Users can ask via voice, image, or text. Eg: “What’s wrong with this photo?” or “Translate text from this image.”
Context & Follow-Up Queries: Ability to refine answers based on further clarifications.
Real-time or recent knowledge: For up to date news, shopping info, web developments.
Agentic / Action Capabilities: Not just search, but doing—for example, finding a restaurant and booking a table.

Some leading players in this space in 2025: Perplexity AI, OpenAI’s ChatGPT (with Search Mode), and of course, Google evolving its Search through AI Mode and related Gemini model improvements.

Perplexity AI: What It Brings to the Table

Perplexity AI has been one of the frontrunners in AI-driven search. Some of its standout qualities in 2025:

It integrates real-time knowledge sources so output is fresher and more relevant for trending topics. (Though exact implementation details vary.) 4idiotz
It supports multimodal inputs (or is pushing toward that) — images, charts, sometimes voice or audio input. This allows for richer query types. 4idiotz
It tries to provide detailed answers, along with citations and links, so users can verify or dig deeper.
Also features like Deep Research, structured outputs, sometimes options to customize depth or style based on user preference.

However, Perplexity still faces challenges: it needs robust verification to avoid hallucinations, scalability, and performance, especially for very complex queries, and monetization — balancing free vs paid. Some users report that newer features sometimes reduce consistency in simpler search tasks. Reddit+1

ChatGPT Search Mode: OpenAI’s Push into Search

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been known more for conversation, generation, assistance. But as of 2025, Search Mode is now part of its offering, with some notable changes:

Search mode available to all: Earlier, certain features (like web searches) required paywalls, or sign-ins linked to certain accounts. But now, ChatGPT’s search feature is available to more users, including free users in some settings. India Today+1
Shopping inside ChatGPT: ChatGPT Search mode now supports shopping features, so you can search for products, see options, etc., directly via ChatGPT. This is a direct competitor to Google’s shopping-capable search. India Today
Improvements in citation, autocomplete, trending searches. These help close the gap between a chat-based interface and a traditional search engine.

ChatGPT’s strength lies especially in its conversational interface, ability to refine answers with follow-ups, and integration into various workflows (writing, brainstorming, etc.). But it also has limitations: coverage of the web, freshness of data, sometimes hallucination issues, limitations in multimodal inputs compared to other tools.

Google’s Response: AI Mode (2025)

Google is not sitting idle. In 2025 it has launched AI Mode in Search (via Search Labs, then rolled out more broadly), upgraded its underlying model (Gemini 2.5, Gemini 2.5 Pro), introduced Deep Search, and more. Let’s look at what Google’s doing, how it works, and how strong it is as competition.

Key Features of Google’s AI Mode

Powered by Gemini 2.5 / Gemini 2.5 Pro models
In several announcements, Google has stated that AI Mode and AI Overviews are now using a custom version of Gemini 2.5, which offers better reasoning, multimodal capabilities, better understanding of context. blog.google+2India Today+2
AI Overviews → AI Mode
- AI Overviews, launched earlier, were summary-esque results for complex queries. Now Google is going deeper with AI Mode, which includes all that and more: follow-up query abilities, deeper reasoning, curated result summaries, etc. blog.google+1
- For queries where you want thorough response, Google introduced Deep Search, which aggregates sources, provides more detailed info, more citations. India Today+1
Multimodal & Agentic Utility
- AI Mode supports voice input, image input (via Google Lens integration), and more interactive modes. In India, for example, AI Mode supports English queries, voice and image inputs. Gadgets 360+1
- Agentic features (via Project Mariner etc.) allow AI Mode not just to find info, but perform tasks: booking, shopping, making reservations. Eg. Google is experimenting with restaurant reservations, future support for local service appointments and event tickets in AI Mode. TechCrunch+1
Global Expansion & Localization
- Google has expanded AI Mode to many countries (180+ in English) and is adding support for more languages. Recently, languages such as Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese have been added or are being added. This helps non-English speaking users. The Tech Portal+3The Times of India+3The Verge+3
- In India, Google opened AI Mode in Search Labs, removed the need for opt-in for many users. The Tech Portal+2Gadgets 360+2
Personalization, Context, Follow-up
- Google’s AI Mode breaks down queries via “query fan-out” (i.e., decomposing a complex question into subquestions in parallel) to fetch relevant info. mint+1
- It also allows follow-up questions, so that user can refine or drill deeper. And it tries to include user preferences / past behavior (search history, etc.) to personalize. blog.google+2TechCrunch+2

Recent Updates & News (2025)

Google’s AI Mode now supports more languages — including Hindi etc. The Verge+2The Times of India+2
AI Mode is being expanded globally. TechCrunch+1
Daily usage limits, tiered plans like AI Pro, AI Ultra giving more capabilities (more prompts, more context, more image generations etc.). Android Central+2blog.google+2

Comparing Google AI Mode vs Perplexity vs ChatGPT Search Mode

Here’s how the three major players stack up across some key dimensions in 2025.

Feature / Aspect	Google AI Mode	Perplexity AI	ChatGPT Search Mode
Underlying model / reasoning	Gemini 2.5 / 2.5 Pro, Deep Search, query fan-out, multi-source summarization blog.google+2India Today+2	Strong reasoning, research oriented; often giving detailed answers with citations. Upgrades for real-time knowledge and multimodal inputs. 4idiotz	Good conversational reasoning, fine in many contexts; improving as search features deepen. But sometimes less external source coverage or freshness compared to Google.
Multimodal & Input Flexibility	Yes: voice, image, text; video / camera live input in some contexts Gadgets 360+1	Increasing support: images, charts, some audio; but not always live camera etc. 4idiotz	Primarily text; voice integration is there in some interfaces; less strong on image or live visual search yet vs Google or Perplexity.
Agentic / “Actionable” Features	Google pushing this: reservations, local services, shopping, etc. Agent features being tested. TechCrunch+1	More about information & research; some built‐in tools; but less in terms of directly booking or interacting with external platforms (in many regions) compared to Google’s integration.	ChatGPT Search does have shopping within ChatGPT, but the level of external platform integration for actionable tasks is less than Google AI Mode’s agentic ambition (so far). India Today
Localization & Global Reach	Very broad; adding many languages, country rollout, and making AI Mode accessible beyond just labs or premium tiers. The Times of India+2Gadgets 360+2	Available globally via app/web; user base broad; but localization (especially non-English) may lag behind Google.	Similarly global presence, though local language and contextualization vary; some features region-locked.
Pros / Positives	Strong infrastructure; massive indexing; better freshness; vast resources & ability to integrate services; higher reliability; familiarity & trust.	Agile, fast experimenter; strong for research-heavy tasks; clarity of answers, often more detailed; competition forces innovation.	Conversational experience; integration with multiple tools, workflows; growing search features make it more than just chat.
Challenges / Weaknesses	Potentially issues of over-reliance on AI summaries (bias, missing context, source credit); monetization vs free usage; balancing comprehensiveness vs speed vs cost; ensuring privacy; potential loss of “blue links traffic” for publishers.	Data freshness and completeness; consistency; avoiding hallucinations; monetization (freemium vs paid) and scaling.	Same as above; sometimes less depth or less variety of sources; dependency on the model’s training cut-off; handling very current or complex queries might lag.

Can AI Search Engines Replace Google?

Given the above, let’s explore whether AI search engines can replace Google, fully or partially.

What “Replace” Means

To replace Google would mean:

Users rely primarily on AI search modes or AI search engines rather than standard Google search.
Core functions of search (finding relevant links, site discovery, freshness, choice) are matched or exceeded.
Publishers and the web’s link-based structure don’t lose drastically from traffic loss or SEO changes.
Integration with ecosystems of services (maps, shopping, local services, etc.) is fully competitive.

What Favors AI Search Engines

User Experience & Speed: For many queries, users prefer summarized answers or direct responses rather than clicking through multiple links. AI search engines often save time.
Complex Queries: For multi-part, ambiguous, or deeply research‐oriented queries, AI search modes shine. Google’s Deep Search & Perplexity both aim at these.
Interactivity: Follow-up questions, clarifications, refinements are more intuitive in ChatGPT / AI Mode compared to traditional search.
Multimodal & Contextual Interfaces: Image, voice, live camera capabilities give AI search tools an edge in certain scenarios.
Action / Task Automation: Booking, shopping, reservations from within the search interface can reduce friction for users.

What Makes Total Replacement Hard

Scale & Infrastructure: Google has years of investment in crawling, indexing, ranking, reliability, low-latency serving globally. Matching that is extremely expensive.
Freshness & Coverage: Traditional search still tends to index more comprehensively; some newer AI search tools may lag on newer content or niche sites.
Trust & Bias / Hallucinations: AI summarization has risk of misrepresentations, errors, biases. When responding with summary, the stakes are higher.
SEO / Web Ecosystem: Many publishers rely on Google traffic; if search shifts away from blue links to summaries, publisher revenue and incentives change — this could hurt the web content ecosystem.
Regulation, Privacy, Monetization: How AI search engines use personal data, how they serve ads, or how they support revenue models affects viability. Google already has strong ad business; new entrants need to build sustainable monetization.
User Habit & Trust: People are used to Google’s UI, reliability. Convincing mass users to change is non-trivial.

What the User / Consumer Wants

From user behavior and expectations, what do people increasingly value?

Concise & reliable summaries: Not having to click through many links.
Conversational interactions: Being able to refine, ask follow-ups, get clarifications.
Multimodal support: Voice or image input where typing is inconvenient.
Actionability: Booking, shopping, doing tasks without leaving interface.
Localization: Support in native languages, culturally relevant content.

AI modes are increasingly delivering on these. Google, with its scale, is leveraging its infrastructure to combine traditional link results + AI summaries + actions. Perplexity and ChatGPT offer strong alternatives especially for research, creativity, conversational queries, or where users want depth.

Risks & Trade-offs

But there are trade-offs that users should be aware of, and which might slow or limit a full replacement.

Loss of transparency: When AI engines summarize, how do you see what sources contributed? Are there biases in which sources are picked?
Potential misinformation/hallucination: AI is not perfect; there are cases where summaries are misleading or incorrect.
Less diversity: Traditional search surfaces many different perspectives; AI summaries might emphasize more mainstream voices or sources.
Economic impact on publishers: If fewer clicks go to websites, content creators and news outlets may suffer.
Privacy concerns: The more personalized and agentic the AI becomes, the more data is needed; that raises privacy/security stakes.
Cost & paywalls: Many of the advanced features are gated behind subscriptions (e.g. Google’s AI Ultra, AI Pro; Perplexity Pro). So free users may get fewer benefits.

My Take: Will They Replace Google?

In my opinion, AI search engines / AI Mode-type experiences will complement and transform search; in many use cases, for many users, they will partially replace the way people use Google today. But a complete replacement is unlikely, at least in the near term (next 1-2 years), for the following reasons:

Google still has unmatched scale, infrastructure, content indexing, and integration with services.
Users still need and use the traditional blue links: for discovery, for confirming sources, for accessing original content (news, blogs, research).
For many queries, simple searches are faster with traditional search. AI Mode may have latency or cost constraints.
The web ecosystem needs to adapt; publishers need to find sustainable models.

So what we are likely to see is:

Google continues improving AI Mode, blending it into core search so that users might sometimes get AI summaries first, blue links second, or some mix.
Perplexity, ChatGPT etc. will capture niches: research, creativity, those who prefer conversational interfaces, or value depth over breadth.
Some users may shift depending on region, language, privacy concerns, cost, or preference.

What Needs to Happen for Real Replacement

For AI search engines / AI Modes to replace Google (or take over a large chunk of its function), the following would help:

More robust, trustworthy summarization & source attribution: Users need to trust that what they read is accurate and fair.
Broad multilingual capability: Supporting many more languages well, not just English.
Better multimodal support: Including video, voice, images natively and seamlessly.
Strong agentic features: Domestic/local services, booking, shopping, etc., embedded.
Sustainable business models: Enough free tier, but also premium features for funding.
Regulation and standards: Clear rules about privacy, data usage, bias, how AI summaries are generated.
User education: Helping users understand difference between summary vs full source, when to verify, etc.

Conclusion

The rise of AI search engines and AI Modes in search is among the biggest shifts in how we access knowledge online in 2025. Google itself has recognized the threat and opportunity, and is pushing hard with Gemini 2.5, Deep Search, AI Mode, adding multimodal input, agentic features, etc. Meanwhile, Perplexity and ChatGPT Search mode are innovating fast, offering strong competition especially in research, conversational queries, and depth.

So can they replace Google? For many use-cases — yes, already partly. Especially for people doing research, asking complex questions, preferring conversation over link-surfing. But for the full spectrum of what Google Search does, particularly at scale, in many languages, across all query types, traditional search (augmented by AI) will likely continue to dominate for some time.

If you’re a content creator, publisher, or SEO specialist, this is a time to pay attention: your strategies will need to adapt (e.g. ensuring your content is AI-friendly, ensuring good source quality, optimizing for how AI Modes surface information). For users, this means more convenience, but also more responsibility: check sources, verify summaries, and be aware of the trade-offs.